By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
At first, Jaden Britton’s parents had one goal: to get their son baptized; and even that seemingly simple objective sometimes felt unobtainable. At the time when his parents began their pursuit, the young boy with autism could not read, could not write, and often struggled to sit still — all qualities that made typical faith formation classes difficult. Nonetheless, on Jan. 17, through the grace of God and the efforts of Jaden, his parents, and the staff of St. Joseph Catholic Parish in Richardson, the 12 year old celebrated not only his baptism but his first Communion and confirmation too.
Jaden’s journey to full communion began about two years ago, his stepmother, Ana Britton, shared. As a committed Catholic, Ana knew the importance of baptism; but the parishioner of Good Shepherd Catholic Parish in Garland feared Jaden’s differences might bar him from receiving the sacraments of initiation. So, she began making inquiries. Jaden is a bright boy, sweet-hearted, and curious about the faith, she said, and he also has unique needs. She found that many faith formation programs were not suited to meet them.
“He can’t go to a class, because he can’t pay attention; he won’t understand,” Ana remembered thinking. “So, I kept looking.”
Eventually, Ana found a true answer to prayer in the children and family ministry team at St. Joseph.
St. Joseph is one of five parishes in the first cohort of the Diocese of Dallas’ Community of Disciples initiative. The initiative, which focuses on improving faith formation for people with disabilities, invites parishes to expand access to sensory-friendly Masses and to an adapted catechesis that welcomes all into deeper understanding and communion.
“We’re really trying to create spaces in our Church that are completely welcoming and that people know ‘I belong here,’” said Alison Wire, who is the initiative director for Community of Disciples and the associate director for the diocesan office for Persons with Disabilities. “We want to make sure that we’re removing any barriers that exist to keeping any of God’s people away from the table of the Lord.”
‘A different rhythm’
In the spirit of the initiative, the St. Joseph children and family ministry team was willing — even excited, Ana said — to find ways to make sacramental preparation work for Jaden. After meeting with the Brittons to learn about the boy’s needs, the team decided to utilize Loyola Press’ Adaptive Preparation Kits, a resource that would allow Jaden to learn at his own pace, in his own way, and in his own home, aided by the people who know him best: his parents.
“We gave them time to really go through the information; and after that, we’d meet with them and just discuss what they learned,” said Carmen Fernandez, St. Joseph’s associate director of children and family ministry, “and we, of course, were always in contact with them.”
While the bulk of the faith formation took place at home, under the watchful care of Jaden’s parents, the Brittons also had regular check-ins with the St. Joseph staff and clergy to assess Jaden’s comprehension of the materials. During these meetings, Fernandez said, she took care to speak slowly, make points clearly, and converse briefly, so as to keep Jaden’s attention.
“It was a different type of communication,” she said. “He has a different rhythm than we have, but we just try to accommodate everything so he can feel welcome and comfortable.”
The St. Joseph ministry team also offered the family helpful strategies for communicating the faith to Jaden in a way that made sense to him. The Brittons often relied upon pictures, videos, and books, for example, to clarify concepts; and their efforts were bearing fruit.
“By the second meeting,” Fernandez said, “he was able to say the Our Father prayer, Hail Mary prayer. It was amazing, honestly, to see him just develop so fast.”
Jaden’s enthusiasm for the faith also grew quickly. Often, the boy could be heard asking to go to church and repeating the names of Jesus and “Mamá María.”
“In his heart, we can see that he wanted to receive the sacraments,” Fernandez said “So, it was a beautiful, beautiful process.”
A blessed day
On Jan. 17, in the sanctuary of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Jaden finally received the sacraments of baptism, holy Communion, and confirmation during a sensory-friendly Mass at the parish — a joyful and much anticipated occasion for the Brittons.
“I think the last time I felt this way was when Ana and I were getting married,” Jeffrey Britton, Jaden’s father, said, recalling the excitement of his wedding ceremony, which also took place in the Richardson church. “Walking in there, man, you feel the excitement — happy for Jaden, happy that we got all the support we needed. This could not be any better.”
Jaden, too, was excited, as he sat with his family at the front of the church while other members of their community filed into the rows behind them. For more than a year, the boy had waited to receive the sacraments, especially longing for the Eucharist. Finally, the day had come.
“When it comes to the sacraments — oh yeah, he was so ready for them,” Ana said. “He was paying attention when those moments were actually taking place.”
For Ana, Jaden’s journey to full communion was not just a blessing for her own family; the occasion was also a sign of hope for any child who longs to be part of the Church but needs a little help to get there.
“Talking to the people in St. Joseph and them hearing us and the situation we have with Jaden and giving us a solution or resources to make it happen — it was just a blessing for us,” she said. “We feel so grateful … This was a gift.”
Cutline for featured image: Jaden Britton, center right, poses for a photo in the sanctuary of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Richardson on Jan. 17 after receiving the sacraments of initiation during a sensory-friendly Mass at the parish. He is pictured with, from left, his godparents, Salvador Vicuña and Magali Morales; Father Stephen Ingram, pastor of St. Joseph; and his parents, Jeffrey Britton and Ana Britton. (CHRISTIE MCGEE/St. Joseph Catholic Parish)
